'The relationship between technology and the users of technology is mutual: we are changing each other'
- Dr. Sadie Plant
A recent Motorola-sponsored study has discovered that young people who regularly use
mobile phones especially for
texting, have extraordinarily strong, flexible and dextrous thumbs. This generation grew up with the
Game Boy, and now use the phones to transact their daily business and social lives. The strength and control of their thumbs is hardly surprising; it's not even much of a stretch to believe that their thumbs are better developed that their other digits.
The surprising conclusion of the report is that the thumb has come to take over roles normally associated with the other fingers. Pointing and ringing doorbells are now routinely done with the thumb. I find it remarkable that such a change in how we use our hands has come about in so short a period of time. In Japan, such people have become known as the oya yubi sedai- The thumb tribe or generation. pi comments that thumbs may be even more advanced in Japan because they are already used to horrible text entry methods for kanji.
The study spanned several nations; and was carried out by Dr Sadie Plant of Warwick University's Cybernetic Culture Research Unit.
Sources:
pi
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,673103,00.html
AnotherMartini has found the original report:
http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/industry/background/0,1083,,00.html
S/he thinks it's a bit dodgy because of poor science and corporate sponsorship. See below. I don't think that the use the findings are put to is important for the purposes of my writeup; the sources I used didn't mention Motorola once. Nor does my w/u. Now; if the findings were completely fabricated that would be another matter. I don't think they were.